US Hostage Warren Weinstein Asks Obama To Meet Al Qaeda's Demands In Exchange For Life [VIDEO]
Al Qaeda on Sunday released a video of American hostage Warren Weinstein urging the US government to act upon his abductors' terms or else he would be put to death, the Agence-France Presse (AFP) reported.
In the video titled, A Message from the Prisoner Warren Weinstein to His President, the former USAID worker was seen seated behind a table as he addressed President Obama: My life is in your hands, Mr. President. If you accept the demands, I live; if you don't accept the demands, then I die.
He also appealed to Obama to avoid any delay as it will just make things more difficult, Weinstein said in the video.
The 70-year-old aid worker, who suffers from several health issues, also made it known to his wife that, I'm fine, I'm well, I'm getting all my medications, I'm being taken care of.
AFP said that Weinstein will be freed in exchange for the release of high-profile terrorist prisoners Omar Abdul Rahman, Ramzi Yousef, Sayyid Nosair, Abu Musab al Sur along with the release of Osama bin Laden's family, which has been detained in Saudi Arabia since March. Other terms include a ceasefire on US airstrikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen.
According to the news service, the original source report was published by SITE, a US monitoring service, which said that the recording, less than three minutes long, was made by al Qaeda's propaganda wing, As Sahab, and was posted on jihadist websites. The time and place where the video was filmed remains unclear though.
Weinstein, who lived as an expat in Pakistan for seven years, was heading J.E. Austin Associates, a US-based development firm, when he was kidnapped by the militant group from his home in August 2011. His capture caused a public outcry against the Islamist regime and called for Weinstein's immediate release.
Four months after the incident, Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri released a statement in a video that confirmed the kidnapping and specified conditions for Weinstein's release last December, the BBC said.
The two men, Saif Ur Rehman and Hafiz Imran, who were allegedly linked with Weinstein's kidnapping, were arrested in Pakistan early April, The International News reported.
The US government is yet to make a statement on the recent video. The US State Department spokeswoman Joanne Moore reportedly told Reuters in December, We remain concerned for Mr. Weinstein's safety and well-being. U.S. officials, including the FBI, are assisting in the Pakistani-led investigation.
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